Aquity Brand Lighting Products Now in Revit

Download Them Here

Models Contain Geometry and Data To Improve All Phases of Construction
The rapid adoption of 3D design tools and building information modeling (BIM) software represent profound challenges and opportunities for the architecture, engineering and design professions.

The potential is that tools like Autodesk Revit® and Bentley MicroStation® will help specifiers create structures that are more sustainable, deliver productivity improvements during design and construction, and provide greater value to owners even faster.

And, in this new era, one of the significant challenges is that specifiers don’t have access to a full and accurate library of 3D models for all of the products that go into a construction project.

Acuity Brands Lighting (ABL) is working with the design community to help improve the promise of BIM by providing 3D models of its lighting products.

Architecture, design, engineering and construction professionals can find a starter set of 3D models of Acuity Brands most popular luminaries on this site. These models will allow designers to seamlessly integrate lighting into project, saving both time and money as they eliminate the guesswork about how the lighting look and interact in the built environment.

This initial set of products is only the beginning. ABL will continue to add more 3D models to our library each month so that designers have access to an ever-growing selection of innovative lighting products.

Taco Revit Familiers

Download them Here

These Revit families are 2009 version.

The families are not the smallest files. They are a bit large. (900k typically). But if you don't have a lot of them, you could make due.

The Taco families are parametric, and there are hundreds of files, one for each pump and they contain all of the data associated with the pump.

There is a Type Catalog TXT file for each Taco family. Make sure that file is in the same location as the family itself.

You can download an entire pump family as a zip file, but then each pump is in another zip file, so you need to unzip each pump, and like I said, there are hundreds of them. Otherwise you can download them on the fly as you need them from Autodesk's Seek site.

You don't need Navisworks to create Navisworks NWC files from your AutoCAD or Revit models.

The distributable NWC file exporter program enables project teams using Autodesk Naviswork software to generate whole-project models for simulation and analysis. Project team members can generate the optimized NWC file directly from their design applications. This capability is provided without necessitating a licensed seat of Autodesk Navisworks 2010 software on the same machine. The NWC exporter works with a range of products, including the AutoCAD-based and Revit-based Autodesk products, as well as Autodesk 3ds Max, Bentley MicroStation, and Graphisoft ArchiCAD software. The NWC file format supports transfer of both object geometry and associated metadata from the design applications into Autodesk Navisworks 2010 software.

Click here to download the exporter program


Using NWC File Exporter Pack

The NWC file exporter pack enables project team members generate the optimized NWC files directly from their design applications.

The NWC file enables transfer of both object geometry and associated metadata (such as object properties and materials) from the design applications into Autodesk Navisworks 2010.

The NWC exporter pack works with a range of products including AutoCAD-based applications, Revit-based applications, 3DS MAX and Viz, Microstation, and ArchiCAD.

You can distribute link to a download page for the NWC exporter pack to any project team member.

To export an NWC file from an AutoCAD-based application

1. To export an NWC file, type NWCOUT at the command line in the design application.
2. Press Return.
3. In the Save As dialog box, enter the name for the file, and browse to the desired storage location.
4. Click OK to export the file, or Cancel to return to the application without exporting it.
   

To export an NWC file from a Revit-based application

1. In the design application, click Tools ➤ External Tools ➤ Navisworks 2010.
   NOTE This option is not available in Demo/Viewer mode. If you are not in demo mode, but do not have access to the Navisworks menu, check if editing view is set to normal, and the modify tool is selected (Edit ➤ Modify).
2. In the Export Scene As dialog box, enter the name for the file, and browse to the desired storage location.
3. Click Save to export the file, or Cancel to return to the application without exporting it.
   

To export an NWC file from 3DS MAX or Viz

1. Click File ➤ Export.
2. In the Select File to Export dialog box, select Navisworks 7 Cache (*.NWC) in the Save as Type field.
3. Enter the name for the file, and browse to the desired storage location.
4. Click Save to export the file, or Cancel to return to the application without exporting it.

Autodesk Brings Together Digital Prototyping and Building Information Modeling

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Greenbuild Expo 2009--Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, announced that building product manufacturers including Reilly Windows & Doors (Reilly) and Mestek, Inc., are successfully using the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping to collaborate with the building information modeling (BIM) process and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms.

By providing “BIM-ready” product models that can be directly incorporated into the building design and construction process, product manufacturers help AEC firms make better design decisions around constructability, fit, aesthetics, performance and cost, while increasing their own ability to win new business.

With the growing adoption of BIM in the building industry, AEC firms are increasingly requiring 3D, BIM-ready models from manufacturers as part of the acceptance criteria. Autodesk Inventor software gives building product manufacturers the ability to create digital prototypes of their products and then publish simplified 3D representations with intelligent connectors and product information as BIM objects. These 3D representations can be consumed by the Autodesk Revit suite of products, which are purpose-built BIM applications designed for architects, engineers, and construction professionals. BIM-ready models can also carry important information about a product’s green characteristics, providing early insight into potential LEED certification.

Digital Prototyping as a Competitive Advantage

Reilly designs, fabricates and installs custom windows and doors that exceed the expectations of even the most exacting clients. To create elegant, high-quality products, Reilly relies on a Digital Prototyping workflow based on Autodesk Inventor software to design, visualize and simulate its products digitally and to deliver models of its products to architects who use Autodesk Revit Architecture software.

“Delivering 3D models to architects is a huge value, particularly because most architects can’t spend time creating realistic models of windows and doors,” said Michael John Iwanyczko, director of marketing at Reilly. “We’re offering them highly detailed 3D models that they can incorporate into their architectural designs — it’s another level of service that sets us apart.”

Mestek, Inc., is a family of more than 30 specialty manufacturers providing heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) products. For more than 40 years, the company has focused on creating a superior indoor environment for building occupants through its offerings. The company recently started using digital prototypes created in Inventor software to develop BIM objects and currently has a published library of more than 300 objects that can be downloaded directly into Revit models.

“The ability to reuse our digital prototypes and repurpose that data to create BIM objects is very important for us, especially since our products tend to be complex and highly configured,” said Mike Kaler, general manager of Mestex, a Dallas-based subsidiary of Mestek. “Sharing these BIM objects with the architects and engineers provides tremendous time savings since we don’t have to create the content from scratch again.”

“Autodesk’s established presence in both the AEC and manufacturing markets is enabling more effective communication and collaboration between disciplines,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk. “Using Inventor software-based solutions allow building product manufacturers to go beyond 3D to Digital Prototyping, and it allows our AEC customers to leverage digital prototypes in their Revit-based BIM workflows.”

AUTODESK REVIT MEP 2010 SUBSCRIPTION RELEASE PACK

User Interface Enhancements
Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2010 software includes enhancements to the user interface, as described in the following topics.

Temporary Dimensions in Layout Mode
When editing duct and piping systems in Generate Layout mode, temporary length and angle dimensions display to assist placement.

DWG Export
When you export a file, you can specify whether to export colors as Index Color or as True Color. See Colors in the User Guide for more information.

Text Formatting Shortcuts
When editing text in a text note, you can format selected text by pressing Ctrl+B for bold, Ctrl+I for italic, or Ctrl+U for underline. See Adding Text Notes and Editing the Text Note in the User Guide for more information.

Split Walls with Defined Space Between Them
The Split with Gap tool allows walls to be split leaving a specified gap between them. See Splitting Elements in the User Guide for more information.

Keyboard Shortcuts
In this release, Revit MEP provides a new interface for managing keyboard shortcuts for Revit tools. With this interface, you can

• Add keyboard shortcuts and assign multiple shortcuts for each Revit tool.
• Remove keyboard shortcuts.
• Import keyboard shortcuts from another user. Also use this function to migrate shortcuts from a previous release.
• Export keyboard shortcuts to share them with other users, or to use the resulting file in a spreadsheet program, where you can sort, organize, and print a list of shortcuts for quick reference.
  See Keyboard Shortcuts in the User Guide for more information.

Find and Replace Text in Text Notes
The Find/Replace tool provides a way to find and replace text in text notes in Revit MEP projects. This tool also searches the text in detail groups. You can use this tool to replace placeholder text on several sheets at once. See Finding and Replacing Text Notes in the User Guide for more information.

Convert Line Types
Sometimes the line type in your Revit MEP model is not the type you want to work with. The Convert Lines tool converts existing model lines, detail lines and symbolic lines into the preferred line type. See Converting Line Types in the User Guide for more information.

Performance

Several areas of improvements were made in the Subscription Release Pack for Autodesk Revit MEP 2010, including areas such as linked files.

Documentation
For this release, the following enhancements have been made to the Help documentation:

• Walls: This documentation has been revised to improve its organization and provide more conceptual and procedural information.
• Curtain Elements: This documentation has been revised to improve organization and workflow.
• Multi-Discipline Coordination: This section has been greatly enhanced to provide more conceptual, workflow, and procedural information, as well as best practices and troubleshooting about use of the Copy/Monitor and Coordination Review tools.
• Troubleshooting View and Visibility Issues: This new section discusses best practices and suggested solutions for problems with display, view, and visibility.

Autodesk Revit Model Review

From Subscription Only...

Automate the process of reviewing and auditing building information modeling (BIM) projects in Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2010, Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2010, or Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2010 software with the Autodesk® Revit® Model Review plug-in:

• Check the accuracy and consistency of a model against standards set by your firm, your clients, or industry best practices.
• Correct inconsistencies with a single click or with instructions provided when manual fixes are required.